Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.

This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Monday, July 17, 2017

New batch of Turkish troops arrives in Qatar

Qatar's ministry of defence has announced the arrival of a new group of Turkish armed forces to the military base where Turkey began its training mission last week.

The forces are set to take part in joint exercises within the framework of a defence agreement signed between Doha and Ankara aimed at raising Qatar's defence capabilities, supporting "counter-terror" efforts, and maintaining security and stability in the region.

Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah arrived on Thursday at Ankara where he is scheduled to meet with his Turkish counterpart Fikri Ishik as well as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey's parliament on June 8 approved the 2015 deal with Qatar aimed at strengthening military cooperation between the two states, which gave Turkey the right to establish military bases in the emirate and deploy military forces.

The deal's approval came three days after Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries severed diplomatic ties with Qatar over allegations that it supports "terrorism" and is too close to Iran - charges Doha has repeatedly denied.

Five armoured vehicles and 23 military Turkish military personnel arrived in Doha on June 18. At the time, Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper reported that there were already at least 88 Turkish soldiers in Qatar.

The number of Turkish soldiers sent to the Gulf state could eventually reach 1,000, Turkish daily Hurriyet reported, adding that an air force contingent was also envisaged.

Joint exercises were expected to start after the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

The Turkish military base in Qatar is a first for Turkey in the Arab World.